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Whippoorwill Justified wins National Bird Dog Championship

GRAND JUNCTION, Tenn. - Larry Huffman and his family gathered on the steps of the Ames Plantation's historic Manor House on Monday to celebrate the bird dog he has handled since it was a pup - Whippoorwill Justified - being named the winner of the...

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GRAND JUNCTION, Tenn. — Larry Huffman and his family gathered on the steps of the Ames Plantation's historic Manor House on Monday to celebrate the bird dog he has handled since it was a pup — Whippoorwill Justified — being named the winner of the 117th running of the National Bird Dog Championship.

"I'm not sure how many (family members) were on the steps, but it was a lot," Huffman said with a laugh. "It was a great day for all us. It's good to celebrate with family. The cool thing will be to look at today's photos and look at the photos from the past and see the process of a lot of getting old, including me."

Not that Huffman, 57, is complaining.

It was his third National Championship, following Whippoorwill Wild Card in 1997 and Whippoorwill Wild Agin in 2008. In fact, the National Championship, which is hailed as the Super Bowl of its sport, has become a gathering place not only for the Huffman family, but also for dogs that have come through his dad Dr. Jack Huffman's Whippoorwill Farm.

Whippoorwill Justified, whose call name is Patch (because of a black circle around of his eyes), was one of five Whippoorwill dogs in this year's competition, which began on Feb. 8.

"I thought they all had a good chance," Huffman said. "He (Patch) was ready and he had been doing well the last two weeks prior to the Nationals."

Patch, who is owned by Ronnie Spears of Jacksonville, Arkansas, competed in the eighth brace on the afternoon of Feb. 11, and he put on a show that led many handlers later in the competition to pick up their dogs before the end of the three-hour trial.

In a competition where the criteria for the three judges focuses on style, stamina and the ability to locate coveys of quail, Patch blew the field away on a day with near-perfect bird-finding weather (52 degrees at breakaway with a slight breeze). He found his first covey within 13 minutes, found another 19 minutes later and had four finds at the halfway mark.

"The last hour is the most important of three (hours)," Huffman said. "And he was just as strong, or even stronger, at the end. He had four finds in the last hour."

Spears, a 30-plus-year veteran of field trials, credited Huffman for his dog's success, noting that he purchased Patch as a pup and immediately sent him to the Huffman family's Whippoorwill Farm, which, Huffman said, is about eight miles from the Ames Plantation.

"Nobody could have done a better job than Larry," Spears said.

The dog's scout, Nick Thompson of Hickory Flat, Mississippi, agrees.

"Yes, he is a young dog, but he and Larry have such a connection," Thompson said. "Larry has done a great job in developing him. Plus, he is a happy dog. I knew at the halfway point of the day he ran that we were watching something special."

Whippoorwill Justified is from the youngest of the litters by Whippoorwill Wild Agin and Sparkles. He won five placements in qualifying for his first National Championship in his first year in the All-Age Division. There were eight descendants of Whippoorwill Wild Agin in the field.

"The dog likes to do what is right," Huffman said. "He is not outlawish in any way. He runs enough and he comes back. He handles birds and looks on them. It's just that simple."